Author Archives: 4511

As the next “Godzilla” film (titled “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”) looming around the corner, I wanted to look back on the original Godzilla, since it’s really worth discussing how far the monster has come from its original debut in the 1950’s. If anyone has seen the original, it’s not even comparable to the monster films we have today, but there’s something especially quaint about how much they were able to do with neither CGI or really any computers for that matter to create something which is still pretty creepy even today.

According to Science Fiction News, the famous (or infamous) arcade games of PUBG, Fornite, and so forth, may actually come to life as an anonymous “gazillionaire” aims to host a game of “the last man standing,” where 100 people will compete for cash prizes. As if the trend of battle royale games hasn’t gone far enough to warrant the hopes of Prince Harry banning them once and for all on the basis of encouraged gambling, the dystopian premise of something like this may cause even more people to question the ethics of these popular arcade games.

I’m sad to admit I hadn’t heard of the work of Nnedi Okorafor until I was browsing Barnes and Noble one day and came across one of her novellas titled, “Binti.” I was drawn to the cover, since suffice to say, the “science fiction” section of Barnes and Noble is not the most diverse in terms of protagonists, let alone female protagonists, who for the most part fall under the “Katniss Everdeen”-demographic. I also had to pick up the novella based on the back cover, since it’s practically made for college students, who surely all looked at their future schools with the same amount of uncertainty and insecurity as the protagonist. Overall, I’m really looking forward to reading this novella, and hope to do a follow-up reaction soon.

https://youtu.be/19GO8-Rrn0g

I’ve been waiting to see how Jordan Peele’s take on the series, “The Twilight Zone” would be like, and I wasn’t at all disappointed when I had the chance to see the episode CBS posted on their Youtube account for anyone to watch in full. It wasn’t at all as “noir” science fiction as the original, but it was nearly as forced as some of the other remakes, and really felt genuinely unique. It felt very much like the classic “The Twilight Zone” series the way the episode was set up, and I’m almost thankful Peele did decide to do something a bit more political with the subject matter of the series. Overall, I can’t wait to see the rest of what Peele has stored for the series.

Sunday 4/7: Schedule

Monday 4/8: Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone “The Comedian”

Tuesday 4/9: Stories of Nnedi Okorafor

Wednesday 4/10: TBA

Thursday 4/11: “Godzilla” Re-look

Friday 4/12: Taika Waititi’s “Akira”

Saturday 4/13: TBA

Sunday 4/14: Schedule

According to a post I saw on the website, “Science News,” when most planet-hosting stars turn into a white dwarf (or “dead” stars), the closest planets are almost immediately obliterated by the initial burnout of the star’s outer-shell of gas. Additionally, even the planets furthest away from the burning-out star cannot seem to escape, since if they move any closer, the dead star’s gravity will destroy them. In a solar system supported by a star, which will most likely end up turning into a white dwarf at some point, this isn’t such good news for earth. However, it turns out in some rare cases, this may not always be the only result of a star’s burning out. In some rare instances, planetesimal, the planet’s particular density, scientists assume, have allowed it to escape the fate of other planets in its solar system.

Though I’m not so sure what to think of this film, whether it’s taking bits and pieces from “A Quiet Place” and “Bird Box” in an attempt to create the “best” of both cinematic universes. However, even though I don’t entirely buy the ingenuity of this film, and its uniqueness from other recent horror films, I am curious to see what this particular universe has to offer, since hopefully, the trailer only serves as a means of capitalizing on the popularity of the two rather similar horror films I mentioned before (“A Quiet Place”- referring to monsters who detect sound, and “Bird Box”- referring to the cult aspect of the film). Since the movie comes out on Netflix this wednesday, I’m looking froward o seeing how the film is really like beyond what I believe it’ll be like based on the trailer alone.

Based on a series of graphic novels created by Jacques Lob, “Snowpiercer” is easily one of my top three favorite science fiction series, if only for the film’s stylistically appealing aesthetic and amazing world-building, which is unlike any I had seen before, or have seen since then. The film takes place during the earth’s second ice age, where the only presumed survivors of the snowy apocalypse live on a luxury “super train,” and where a strict social hierarchy oppresses a majority of the train’s passengers. The reason I wanted to post about this film was mainly because I’m happy to see that its legacy is still being mentioned and elaborated on, as a new television series appears to be in the making involving this universe to some extent. According to Joseph Baxter for “Den of Geeks,” much of the series’ cast has already been determined, so it’s just a matter of re-shooting the pilot, so I’m excited to see where the series goes next or what direction has been decided for it.

Although “Joker” appears to be vested more in the realm of tangible reality, dissimilar to other films based on comic book heroes and villains, I had to mention this, if only because of how different this portrayal of the DC character, Joker, is from his other depictions. In the comics, we know Joker as this strange, malevolent entity who spends his time acting as a thorn in Batman’s side. However, after watching this trailer, I believe this will truly be a Joker origin story, and maybe even a bit of a redemption story. When watching the trailer, I found myself sympathizing with this rather sad character, who genuinely doesn’t seem like a bad character. He does what he’s supposed to, and within his means, but he doesn’t seem as though he’s losing his mind, until you begin to reach the end of the trailer, where he really does seem to be losing sight of reality, and in some way, bringing this film more into the realm of “science fiction” as he becomes “The Joker”.

According to an article I found on “Engadget,” Amazon Prime appears to be expanding their catalog of episodic series (we can’t quite call them television series anymore), and are adding Viola Davis’ adaptation of the novel, “Wild Seed” to their selection. I had never heard of this novel, but based upon the synopsis provided by “Engadget” I’m interested to start reading “Wild Seed,” as well as the rest of Butler’s Patternmaster series, since they sound like the same sorts of techno-determinist future stories we’re used to hearing in science fiction, but much more intertwined with fantasy, and the “future,” which I like, since the story focuses on two immortals who “travel the ages,” whatever that means in the series I’m not sure.